Drabble Caboodle
by LoneStorm
Summary: Just a collection of all my random Fairy Tail drabbles. Nalu, Gajevy, Gruvia, Jerza, and general friendship feels. Image credit goes to swordbreaker on Tumblr. Drabble 11: For unashamed-shipper, who said they'd read anything I wrote even if it was a bagel AU. Here you go, and you are wonderful. Nalu.
1. Pretty Magical

Gajeel was seriously beginning to lose his patience.

His foot tapped, his fists clenched, and most of all, his red-eyed glare burned into the back of the head of this tiny, teenage girl in an orange shirt and jeans who was leisurely leaning across the counter, chatting with her pretty, blonde friend. The blue-haired chick had books stacked high to be bought. Gajeel snorted. Unlike these bookworms, he hadn't come for novels. He'd come for the ancient-looking vinyls in the back of the store.

And all the ones he was purchasing weren't exactly getting any lighter.

"Look, pipsqueak," he finally burst with a growl. "If you ain't gonna buy them books, maybe you should move them off the damned checkout!"

She jumped high enough to satisfy him, spinning to see him with wide, brown eyes. Blinking several times, Gajeel had a sharp intake of breath. This girl was… rather cute. Not that it mattered to him. At all.

"E-excuse me," she stammered, shoving her books off to the side. "Y-you can go first."

This made him shift in discomfort. He'd been expecting her to run away, but this way… he couldn't just cut in front of a _girl_. "Nah," he grumbled eventually, staring at his motorcycle boots. "Ladies first."

She cocked an eyebrow then, and he took a step back at her expression as she planted her hands on her hips. "Then what's the fuss about?"

"The _fuss_ is about how you're taking a millenia and a half to- wait, is that a Slytherin keychain?"

He'd blurted the last part out before he'd realized how nerdy it sounded. That made her loosen with surprise, though, and she glanced down at her bookbag. "Oh… yes. What, you read Harry Potter?"

Gajeel paused, narrowing his eyes. "...only about seven times."

He was slightly entranced at the way her eyes slowly began to brighten. "I've read them twenty! Which house are you in?"

"How many lifetimes have you had to have the time to read it twenty?" he muttered, more to himself. "Well, Pottermore says I'm a Gryffindor…"

"So you're on Pottermore!" The girl hopped up and down, much to his amusement. "But…" she sighed, shoulders slumping. "I'm in Slytherin. Apparently the hat doesn't take choice into account after all - I wanted to be in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor."

For some reason, Gajeel felt the need to console her. After all, not being in the Hogwarts house you desired was a serious life let-down. "There's nothin' wrong with Slytherin! I mean, yeah, a buncha dark wizards came from it, but that's because they didn't direct their ambition the right way - Slytherin means you're clever and driven, right? That's okay."

She looked up at him, from about two heads down, in some kind of adoration. "You really think so?"

"Y-yeah." Oh hell - why did he have to blush _now_? _Why?!_

"But I guess… our houses mean we wouldn't get along, huh?" she said hesitantly, beginning to sway back and forth.

Slowly, a grin crept up Gajeel's face. "Nah. I'm sure we could get past that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Gajeel knew he was no Einstein, but he knew an opportunity when he saw it. "If you wanna prove it, you could maybe put those books on hold and let me take you for a ride on my bike."

Her cheeks were getting redder by the second. "Y-you don't even know my name!"

"I know you're cute and you read Harry Potter - what else could a guy ask for?"

"Well, if you put it that way…" She pushed her glasses further up her nose, ignoring how her blonde friend was squeaking and jumping up and down in excitement behind the counter. "My name is Levy."

"I'm Gajeel." He stuck out his hand for her to shake. "My bike don't fly, but I'm sure you'll still find it pretty magical."

* * *

**Gajevy #10 - "Pottermore said you're a Gryffindor and I'm a Slytherin" AU - Requested by Anonymous**

**Love it. Harry Potter = my first obsession. Fun fact: Pottermore said I was a Slytherin... O.o**

**Mizpah,**

**~LoneStorm**


	2. After All

Lucy was fully aware that going to the movies alone was considered rather sad.

And, well, she was rather sad.

But even though her latest boyfriend had broken up with her a few days prior, she wasn't going to let that stop her from going to this movie that she'd bought tickets for earlier that week.

She couldn't exactly ask her friends to go; she'd preferred not to tell them so that they wouldn't feel bad for her. After all, Lucy was happily single and fully capable of enjoying a good horror movie by herself. Very. Happily. Single.

At least, that's what she told herself several times as she cried all Saturday.

But he had been a douchebag anyway.

When she strolled into the theater with her huge popcorn, Raisinetts, and soda to drown her sorrows in, she found that it was nearly packed; one of the only open seats that weren't next to the old dude picking his nose or the gaggle of middle school girls that were texting and on Facebook was by some pink-haired guy with his buddies, laughing softly as he shoved some ice from his cup down his friend's shirt. Grimacing, she made her way over, trying to sit and not to look at him so that she wouldn't make things awkward.

But that was difficult, considering how he paused and stared when she took her seat, blinking a few times before shooting her this huge, adorable smile. Damn, she hadn't noticed before, far away and in the dark, but he was _hot_. Like, high school movie troublemaker hot. Hotter than her ex hot. Lucy only stared back in surprise, unsure of how to respond, but he just patted the seat next to him, inviting her to sit if she liked. He turned back to his friends.

With a heavy sigh, she stripped off her jacket and hung it over the backrest, sitting and facing the screen.

About a quarter of the way through the movie, Lucy began to realize that this had been a terrible idea. She'd never watched a horror film alone, and all the creepy demons were starting to make her break into a cold sweat.

The guy next to her, however, seemed to be enjoying it immensely, leaning forward with a rapt expression as he shoved popcorn into his mouth at an alarming rate.

That's when it came. The part she should've been expecting. The jump scare.

As the bloodied ghost flashed onto the screen, Lucy let out a strangled shriek, snatching the hand to her left with a tight squeeze and curling into a small ball.

After she spent a few seconds regaining control of her breathing, she finally realized that the hand next to her wasn't her boyfriend's. Well, ex-boyfriend. She'd been used to grabbing his hand during movies, but now… she had her fingers wrapped around a total stranger's.

Her breathing stopped again.

"Ohmygosh," she whispered, mortified as she tugged her hand away quickly. "Oh gosh, I am so sorry."

When he turned to face her, he barely seemed fazed, raising an eyebrow with a grin. "Hey, it's no problem."

"S-sorry," Lucy repeated, covering her face with her other hand. "I-I'm just remembering how much I hate horror movies…"

She felt her hand warm again, and realized he'd picked it back up. His hand was calloused, large, though still gentle. "That's alright. Man, this guy just got chased by a demon and decided to hide in a graveyard. What a moron, huh?"

After a few blinks, she began to laugh quietly. "Y-yeah…"

The boy leaned back in his seat, murmuring to her in a casual tone, "So, do you think you'd survive in a horror movie?"

"Well, I definitely wouldn't walk down a dark, wooded path when I'm curious about the blood splattered all around it. Alone."

"Hey, you're halfway there!" He beamed at her.

As she slowly began to smile, a real smile that had been missing for days, she found herself saying, "I'm Lucy."

"Natsu, at your hand-holding service," Natsu replied. "You know, I would've used that sledge hammer to knock out the demon there. It was right on the wall!"

"Yeah, that would totally make sense," she agreed. "Or you could lure it into a pentagram circle that you could draw on the driveway with that child's chalk…"

It didn't take her long to warm up to Natsu, getting this tingly feeling in her chest. She'd never been able to just sit and joke around with her ex; he'd always been pushy about putting his arm around her and such. Natsu's grip, though, was light and free for her to let go if she wished, and all they needed to do was talk for her to enjoy herself.

As they spent the rest of the movie discussing in whispers all the ways to defeat demons, Lucy began to think that maybe horror movies weren't so bad after all.

* * *

**Nalu #6 - "I'm at the cinema and oh my God this is scary let me grab a stranger's hand" AU - Requested by mslead, amaayasha, and thecagedsong**

**More requested, nerdy AU drabbles coming up during Tumblr's Fairy Tail Fluff Week, May 13th through May 21st!**

**Mizpah,**

**~LoneStorm**


	3. Bunny Burglary

"Didn't Mira say she'd put out _actual_ painted eggs for the hunt?"

Lucy held up a purple, plastic egg that she'd just found with the help of her spirits for Levy to see, and the other girl frowned. "Yeah, she did. Do you think these are for someone else's Easter Egg Hunt?"

"Possibly," Lucy replied, scanning the rest of the East Forest clearing that they stood in. Apparently the Easter Egg Hunt was a Fairy Tail tradition this year, with eggs hidden with enchantments. Whomever got the most was awarded a huge prize, or so they'd been told.

Lucy had thought she was a bit old for it, but when Master had mentioned in passing that it could be a good idea to get out the bunny costumes for the girls again, she'd snatched up her basket and gotten out of there as quickly as possible.

"I wonder what's in it," Levy mentioned curiously.

But before Lucy could open it, a flash of black shot across their vision and the odd egg was snatched from Lucy's hand. The girls stumbled backwards with a shriek, and across the clearing they spotted Gajeel lifting a fist triumphantly. Lily had taken their egg and given it to him.

"That's cheating!" Levy protested, stiffening with a glare. "Go find your own!"

"Gihi, no one ever wins by playin' by the rules, short stuff," he said, turning the egg over in his hand. "Plastic, huh? There's probably a prize inside!"

Gajeel opened the egg and immediately got a faceful of a fiery explosion.

The girls gasped as he choked on the smoke; luckily, he was a dragon slayer, and didn't get affected as much as if he weren't, but his face was coated in soot. "SALAMANDER!"

There was a familiar cackle and blur of pink as Lucy's entire basket of three eggs was ripped from her grip. "Karma, Gajeel!" And then he was gone.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted, squinting off to where he'd dissapeared. "Oooh, you thieving… Ugh, I'm getting those back! Later, Levy!"

Lucy took off through the trees, twigs whipping across her face as she followed that obnoxiously pink hair.

Finally, she slowed to a stop, panting, as she neared him, crouching down by a small next of twigs he'd made. He ad Happy were carefully placing her eggs beside about twenty others, covering them with more grass.

"_What _are you doing?!" Lucy hissed, reaching forward for her eggs. If the prize was money, she could use that for her rent. "Why are you hoarding all of these? You know you can take them back to Mira to count up to make sure they don't get stolen, right?"

"Shh," was all he said, pushing her hand away. "You might upset them."

"What are you talking about? You know, you probably already have enough to win-"

"I'm not collecting them for the prize!" he said, horrified. He finally looked up at her. "We're keeping them to hatch! It's cruel to use baby chicks as a game!"

Lucy blinked. It took her a moment to finally get what was going through his head, and then she burst out laughing.

"What?" he demanded.

"Natsu," Lucy gasped, wiping tears from her eyes. "These eggs weren't fertilized — there are no baby chicks in them."

She could tell he hadn't understood a word she'd said. Happy spoke up, "Of course there are baby chicks — they're eggs!"

"No, no, you see," Lucy tried to explain, kneeling beside him and picking up a blue-dyed egg. "Hens lay eggs all the time as part of their menstrual cycle. There are no chicks in them unless there's a rooster. These were the ones sold at the store, and they were bought from hens with no rooster. There's no chick — only a yolk."

Natsu's eyes went from hers, to the egg, and then to the whole nest he'd made. Then he slumped over, disappointment flooding his expression. "So… they won't hatch? Oh…"

"I'm sorry, Natsu," Lucy consoled, both warmed by his enthusiasm for new life and anxious to make his frown go away. "Look, these may not have babies, but I know somewhere that does…"

* * *

After Lucy, Natsu, and Happy had turned in their eggs and collected the prize that only ended up paying half of Lucy's rent, Lucy dragged him off, leaving Happy to paint more eggs with Charle and Wendy. She took him by the wrist to the very outskirts of the forest, where she finally slowed and knelt low to the ground.

"Stay quiet," she whispered, "and watch. Over by that little hole."

"Okay, Lucy."

After about three minutes of needing to hold Natsu still several times, the mother rabbit slowly made her way out of the burrow, followed by a line of four baby bunnies.

"Those are Easter animals too," Lucy said softly, watching as they hopped over to some clover. "I just noticed that they'd been born a few weeks ago."

She looked over to see Natsu's eyes widen in wonder and following the poofy tails around. Laughing quietly, Lucy lay down on her stomach, elbows on the ground and face cradled in her hands. Natsu did the same, head rested on his crossed arms on the grass. There they stayed for nearly an hour, feeling the breeze that lightly sifted through the flowers by the burrow until night had fallen.

* * *

The following day, Lucy looked up after several hours of being at the guild, frowning. "Why hasn't Natsu shown up yet?" she asked Gray, mowing down on his breakfast across from her.

He only shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?"

Right on cue, Natsu rushed into the doors, having slammed them open. "Mornin'!"

"Good morning, Natsu," a few chorused as he slid in beside his partner, beginning to eat off of her plate.

Lucy pushed his hand off of her food forcefully, so that her hand accidentally smacked into his stomach. There was a squeaky noise as she did so, and her eyes narrowed. "What was that?"

His eyes flicked around nervously as he gave an unconvincing laugh. "What was what? You're such a weirdo…"

"You _didn't_."

"Didn't what?"

With a flat glare, Lucy made a beckoning motion with her hand. "Take it out."

"Take what out?"

"You know what. Take it out."

Bowing his head with a pout, Natsu slowly pulled open his black and gold jacket to reveal a small ball of fur.

"Natsu, put the bunny back."

"No."

* * *

**My Easter present drabble from Tumblr - Happy Belated Easter!**

**Mizpah,**

**~LoneStorm**


	4. Dames Dig Dorks

"You _can't _be serious," came Gray Fullbuster's exasperated voice behind him, not that Natsu cared.

Natsu was minding his own business on this beautiful, autumn day. Literally sitting under an old oak tree at the top of the hill at lunchtime with his chemistry set and favorite anime soundtrack drifting through his headphones. But no, Fullbuster still had to find a way to irritate him.

Rolling his eyes, Natsu pulled off his headphones, probably screwing up his messy, pink hair further, and raised an eyebrow at his 'friend'. "Got a problem, droopy drawers?"

"I'd say you do, pyro," Gray scoffed, plopping down beside him. Much to Natsu's surprise, Gajeel and Jellal joined him.

"I don't. Not sitting by your girlfriends today?" Natsu inquired, focusing his attention back on the firework he was making.

"Consider this an intervention," Gray told him. "As your… friends, loosely, we can't stand by and watch you play with your chemistry set, _alone_, at a high school lunch period. Dude, what is _wrong _with you?! It's like a nerd in a bad movie!"

"I am not _playing_," Natsu protested, settling his headphones into his scaly, white scarf. "This is how I make _money_, thank you, and at least I have a better pastime here than making out with my girlfriend in some closet!'

"You don't _have _a girlfriend," Jellal pointed out.

"High school relationships don't mean anything," Natsu muttered, feeling his ears heat up at the pressure. "I've got better stuff to do."

"Oh yeah?" Gray said slyly. "Would you say that while you ogle Lucy Heartfilia every chance you get?"

Gajeel sniggered, and Natsu sputtered, "I-I don't _ogle _her! Besides, just 'cause she's… pretty and sweet and kind and funny and fun and... doesn't mean I think high school relationships mean anything."

"You do realize," Gajeel added, "that every time we all have a family get-together, your dad asks me off to the side if you have a girlfriend yet, right?"

Natsu was pretty sure he'd given in to his blush by now. "That traitor… I don't need a girlfriend."

"No," Jellal consented, "but you do need to get out more."

"I go with you guys to the arcade sometimes! And our martial arts lessons-"

"-and then you go straight home to watch anime with your cat and do chemistry for fun," Gray cut him off dully. "You may not need a girlfriend, but it would help you, like, get a life."

"I'm very satisfied with my own-"

This time, it was Gajeel that interrupted. "Yeah, well that ain't gonna stop you from being a forever alone cat lady for the rest of yer life."

At this, Natsu finally put down his project, meeting Gajeel's gaze with a level glare. It wasn't as if Natsu was some kind of hopeless romantic (Well, so maybe he cried a little when Ed asked Winry to marry him in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, but that was _one time_.), but whenever he was ridiculed for his his lifestyle, the idea that someday, some amazing girl would accept him and love him anyway was something that kept him going. Hearing that nobody else thought he had a soulmate… it hit a little closer to home that Natsu figured they'd expect.

"I," Natsu said stiffly, "will not be 'forever alone'."

"Right," Gray snorted. "Ash-head, have you ever asked out a girl before?"

"Doubt he's even kissed one in his life," continued Gajeel, leaning up against the tree lazily.

"He's eighteen - surely he's…" Gray paused, seeming to examine Natsu's reddening cheeks and uncomfortable expression. "No _way_." A laugh. "You've _never _kissed a girl?!"

"I don't see the appeal," Natsu lied, trying to block out the daydream of how awesome it would be if Lucy Heartfilia would-

"Oooooh, suuuuure," Gray drawled, even Jellal smirking now. "You can't deny Gajeel - you may be the most 'destined to be forever alone' person I've ever seen."

"I am _not_."

"Prove it."

"When I find a cute girl that loves anime and appreciates my masculine charms, I will let you know," Natsu snapped, picking back up his firework.

"Please," Gray laughed. "Don't be bullshittin' me - prove it right now, or I'll call you 'cat lady' for the rest of the year."

"How do you expect me to do that?!"

Natsu gave an involuntary shiver when he saw his three friends exchange greatly unsettling grins. It was Gajeel who finally voiced their thoughts.

"See over by the pond?"

Of course he did - Natsu had been glancing at the pond constantly most lunch periods from this excellent location, getting glimpses of Lucy happily chatting while she dipped her feet in the crystal blue water. "Yeah?"

"Lucy's there - if you're so convinced a girl will like you, then go ask her out."

His blood ran cold. "Wh-what?"

"You heard him." Gray was looking far too happy about this. "Go ask her out."

"I-I'm pretty sure she has a boyfriend," Natsu excused quickly, fingers beginning to twiddle with the wires he'd been reaching for.

"Nope," Jellal contradicted. "Loke, Sting, and Dan have asked her out a few times, but she's said no every time."

"They're on the football team!" Natsu said. "If she says no to the most swooned-over guys in the school, why would she say yes to me? She's the most popular girl in school! Does she even know my name?"

"Dunno," Gray sighed, examining his fingernails. "I guess we were right after all - either a wus or forever alone."

"Shut up," Natsu snarled. Damn, why did they need to cut so deep today? Just 'cause he was a guy didn't mean he had no feelings...

"Guilty until proven innocent, in this situation," Gajeel taunted. "Bet you can't even speak a full sentence to her."

"Bullshit! She's just a girl…"

"Then ask her out!" Gray suggested again.

"NO!"

"Cat lady, cat lady, cat lady, cat lady, cat lady, cat ladyyyyy…"

"FINE! I'll do it!" With frustrated resolve, Natsu stood, throwing down his equipment and straightening his hair… sort of. "I'll ask the damned girl out and she'll say yes - forever alone… forever alone my ass…" _Lies._ As if she'd ever say yes. But he wasn't gonna be a wus.

With a wolf whistle following behind him, he scowled, getting halfway down the hill before becoming unbearably queasy and running back.

"What do I say?" he hissed in panic.

"Oh, for the love of - just go ask her if she'd like to go out on a date sometime!" groaned Gray, shoving him by the shoulders back down the hill.

Following his stumbling feet, Natsu made his way towards the dreaded pond, murmuring, "Kill me, kill me, kill me, dear God please strike me down…"

But sooner than he ever wanted, he finally stopped behind Lucy as she took her feet out from the pond to dry, so that she was already turning to face him. When her eyes met his, Natsu stood stock still, mouth refusing to work and limbs freezing up.

"Oh, hello." Holy mother of hell, she was smiling at him. In that flowery dress and her golden hair freaking _sparkling _from the ripples on the water reflecting the sun- "You're Natsu, from my chemistry class, right?"

_She knows my name! _he internally rejoiced. Outwardly, he finally cleared his throat. "Y-yeah."

"Whacha need? I know the homework for tonight, if you-"

"DoyoumaybewannaIdunnogooutwithmesometimeeventhoughIamageekandjustplease?"

"...huh?" She tilted her head with eyes clouded in confusion, saying, not unkindly, "Sorry, I didn't catch that…"

_Strike. Me. Down._ "I-I was j-just… m-maybe yo-you'd like to… I-I mean…" Her friends were giggling by now, but she kept quiet, listening to him patiently while standing up to face him more fully. "Would y-you maybe wanna… go out? Sometime? With me? L-like… on a d-date… sort of thing…?"

Natsu couldn't help but squeeze his eyes shut, trying to tune out her friends' laughing and hoping she would give her rejection quickly and quietly so that the guys wouldn't laugh too hard at him as well. Or maybe he could just fake it when he went back to the tree, pretending she'd said yes and going to class so that he could wait to admit it until they texted or… Oh hell, what if they told his _dad?! _ He'd never hear the end of the biggest school chem nerd asking out the hot girl for the rest of his pathetically forever alone _life-_

"Sure!"

His eyes snapped open. "Wh-what?"

"I'd love to."

Natsu gaped for several seconds at her flushed, shy expression. "W-wait…" he choked. "You're… not saying no?"

"I'm saying yes," she confirmed, smiling slightly as she fingered her ponytail.

"For real?"

"For very real."

While he was still trying to process this, he heard her say hesitantly, "So… what would you like to do? I'm free Friday…"

At this point, Natsu panicked more than before - while he'd been coming over here as to not chicken out, he hadn't actually even considered that she'd say _yes_. He had absolutely no idea… "U-uh…" Natsu hastily grasped at the first thing he thought of. "We could watch anime."

The second after he said it, he slapped his own forehead, dragging his own hand down his face as if to hide it. What the hell did he just _say?!_ Popular chicks weren't into otakus! Watching anime was _not _a thing to admit to a non-geeky girl.

He'd never been suicidal or anything, but he'd never wished more for something than at that moment: that he could disintegrate on the spot. Completely erase himself from the world's memory and the roars of laughter that erupted around him from curious onlookers that had inched towards the scene. No, no longer be the guy that had been severely pining after the pretty girl for nearly four years only to have her finally notice his existence and hear that he's into Japanese cartoons.

Just as Natsu was considering running away or jumping into the pond, Lucy, by some miracle, asked, "Which anime?"

His eyes nearly dried out from widening so far. "U-uh… FMA? Brotherhood? Dubbed?"

"My favorite!" she nearly squealed, grabbing his arm. Even her friends were gaping now. "How did you know I loved anime?"

"I, uh, I didn't," he admitted, pulling on his scarf bashfully. "Sorry… Kinda just, em, slipped out, and…" he groaned, reconsidering the disintegration option.

Natsu stopped breathing for a minute when she took his hands. "I'll tell you something, Natsu…" Lucy leaned a little closer. He could smell the faint, addicting aroma of her honey scented hair. "I've always dreamed of finding an otaku dork boyfriend to watch anime with. Don't act so skittish around me," she ended with a slight laugh. "I'm definitely not one to judge on geekiness."

Letting her words sink in, Natsu slowly gained a smile. His heartbeat seemed to return to a safer rate. "In that case… my house, Friday, after school? My family will be there, but they're cool. I'll make you dinner, and we can binge the hell out of that show."

She seemed to smile wider at his dinner suggestion, and she swayed back and forth hopefully. "Italian?"

"Sure."

"Pasta?"

"Anything you want."

"You really cook?" Lucy mused.

"Yup," Natsu reaffirmed.

"Well?"

"So I hear."

"And like anime."

"Yeah."

"Cute slash hot piece of ass that cooks and is shy and sweet and watches anime?" Lucy summed up.

"I'd say most of those are a matter of opinion," he admitted.

"My opinion. Marry me?"

"Maybe."

"Cool."

When the bell rang, she cheerfully swung up her bag, Natsu standing in a rather stunned state. He had a sharp intake of breath when she bounced up to quickly kiss his cheek before ambling off.

Hiking his way back up the hill, Natsu wordlessly shoved his chemistry set and headphones back into his bag, ignoring how his friends were gawking at him like he'd grown a second head.

And before he entered the school to his next class, he turned to face them, grinning, and flipped them off.

* * *

**Good day, dears,**

**Something I wrote up for Nalu Week Bonus Day 1, though it doesn't follow the prompt. A random "my jerk friends thank I'll be forever alone and they say I can only prove them wrong by asking out my crush but oh hell I'm such a geek/nerd/dork and you're popular and hot and probably don't know my name but the idea of being forever alone is sad and I'm too stupid to back down for a challenge so please please maybe just roll with it for a sec? AU" **

**Yeah. So, hope you enjoyed - have a delightful day!**

**Mizpah, **

**~LoneStorm**


	5. Just Matched

"Ohmygosh, you and your boyfriend are so cute!" one of Erza's classmates gushed after glimpsing him on the background of her phone, a bright Monday morning in English class. "Just saying. Where did you meet him?"

"Thank you." Erza opened her mouth, then closed it. "Em…"

She was the class president, head of the Student Senate, captain of the fencing team…

How was Erza supposed to say out loud where she'd met her boyfriend?

Her mind flashed back to the day - it had been sunny, adding to the excitement, at the Chicago Comic Con. Erza had been dressed to the T in a suit of armor and real swords as her favorite anime character, though she knew hardly anyone watched that show. It was rather unpopular, due to how it so far only had one season and bad advertising.

She was with her three friends, Lucy, Juvia, and Levy, but she'd lost them some time ago in the crowd. Well, Lucy had probably gotten distracted by her strange boyfriend that she'd met at the movie theater, and Levy had wandered off on accident with the biker boy she was dating. Erza guessed, but Juvia she'd caught sneaking away to drool over some shirtless boy. But Erza had let it go; she was a strong, independent woman! She was sure she could find them eventually, even if none of them were answering her calls or texts.

She found herself wandering through the building - while she was indeed more than capable of handling herself, it wasn't as fun without her friends.

But then… all worries seemed to fade away…

There was a booth with her favorite anime!

Erza had never heard of them attending a Comic Con before - perhaps they were gaining popularity? Forgetting temporarily about searching for her friends, she rushed forward, face alight as she grasped at the manga and merchandise.

"Hello there, miss!" the young man behind the table greeted. "Nice costume you have there! Are you entering for any contests?"

Dropping the book in her hands, Erza's eyes grew wide. "Contest?"

"Sure! You'd win bigger prizes if you coupled up with one of the ships with your character, though."

"I must win!" she said suddenly, causing the man to stumble backwards slightly. "I must find a man to bring together my OTP…"

As if her prayers were to be instantly answered, beside her appeared a newcomer. "Do you happen to have volume five?"

Erza looked beside her, and she decided love at first sight was real.

He was handsome, hair dyed and face marked in perfect similarity to the character she needed to pair up with. Tall, gentle-looking, genuine outfit… _perfect._

"You!" she boldy yelled, causing him to jump. "What's your name?"

"J-Jellal," he stammered, flushing as he took a step back. "Pleasure to-"

"I'm Erza and you're entering the contest with me. You get half of the winnings. Deal?"

He only blinked. "Okay."

One hour later, they'd won the couple contest.

One day later, they'd exchanged numbers and agreed to hang out some more.

One month later, he'd leaned over while watching anime on her couch and kissed her.

And now, as Erza stared down at her phone screen, she just smiled. "We just matched."

* * *

**Jerza #2 - "We met at the Comic Con" AU - Requested by thecagedsong**

**Trying to catch up on all my drabble requests O.o**

**Mizpah,**

**~LoneStorm**


	6. The Different Friday

She always was there at the same dinner time on Friday.

She always brought a book - the same one, that she looked up from frequently towards the door for nearly an hour.

She always greeted the same, scowling man that came to meet her the same way. A smile, and a, "Good afternoon, Father."

Natsu saw her every day at the same stool from the small window that lead to the kitchen, where he stood, hands distractedly scrubbing down the dishes and placing them into the washer. It wasn't his intention to be creepy - she was simply stunning, that golden hair trailing down her back, brown eyes melting any person she gazed upon, but it's not as if she ever saw him anyway. No, he was just the dishwasher. Well, and also in her psychology class at the university, but she'd always been too busy taking notes to look across the room where he sat.

But it wasn't as if he'd know what to say to the girl anyway, so Natsu was contented enough to glance through the window as he repeated the motion. _Scrub, rinse, put in dishwasher. Scrub, rinse, put in dishwasher. Scrub, rinse-_

"Natsu!" Erza hurried up, oven mitts still on her hands and red hair tied up under her hairnet. "Mira's a bit overwhelmed - the busiest Friday yet, what with the homecoming game crowd coming in. Romeo can take care of the dishes. We need you out by the bar; you have your ABC certification, right?"

Alcohol Beverage Control certification. Perking up and setting down his plate, Natsu said, "Sure do!"

It had been months since they'd let him out to serve customers, after the one time they'd caught him eating a little chicken. (Honestly, he was a growing college boy - he needed _sustenance!_) Oh, but did bartending pay well. If Natsu could prove himself good enough to help Mira out this time, he could be out and earning more to pay off his tuition, and talk to people instead of being stuck back here.

_But the girl is out there…_

Natsu shrugged that fact off - Mira was already serving her, and it wasn't as if Natsu could strike up any sort of conversation with her, even if he _could _wait on her, with her father there. Especially since, well, Natsu was struggling to just keep enough money to feed himself, whereas her dad looked filthy rich. Probably wouldn't appreciate a nearly penniless, dishwasher boy talking to his daughter.

"Take off that apron and put this on," Erza instructed, shoving a button-down, black shirt with the Fairy Tail logo on the pocket into his hands. "Ask Mira what you should do when you get out there." Her gaze became unreasonably intense. "We're all counting on you."

"A-aye sir."

Hastily ripping off his white apron and shirt to button up his new one, he grabbed the bartender waist apron and jogged out the door, trying not to stare at the blonde girl on the way out.

Mira instantly directed him to the counter. "Thanks for helping! Since you're not used to making the drinks, just get their orders and tell me - some will want food."

"O-okay," Natsu stammered, fingers twitching on his order notebook with eyes locked on the blonde. She had her head bowed, not able to fully face her father as she fingered a paper. Natsu couldn't hear what she was saying, but for a moment, her mouth stopped moving, and her father abruptly stood.

"I won't tolerate this irresponsible attitude, Lucy!" he practically shouted, and even Mira turned to watch the scene. So her name was Lucy...

"It's only a minor degree, dad!" she insisted, wincing. Natsu's jaw clenched. "I still am majoring in the business, but creative writing is just something else that I want to do-"

"You are to be focusing in your important studies!" The father's voice was growing louder. "This ridiculous 'dream' of yours is distracting you from what you need to make a living!"

"I'm acing all of my classes-!"

"And half of them are unnecessary!"

"It's something I feel I need to do! Mom would want me to do something that makes me happy, and I'm already majoring the boring crap you want-!"

"You dare bring her into this?! You are coming home this instant, to discuss how you will drop these classes." At this point, Natsu tensed as he saw the father grab his daughter's arm forcefully. "You have one of the most important inheritances in this country-"

"Excuse me, sir - I'll have to ask you to leave." Natsu had his palms set on the counter, sending the father a smouldering glare. Lucy's eyes were wide, shimmering with tears as she gave Natsu the most bewildered stare. Mira, to Natsu's surprise, didn't interfere, looking almost as angry as he.

Slowly, her father turned to face him, lip curled. "This is none of your concern, and you have no right to-"

"I actually do." Natsu pointed to a sign behind the bar, specifying that any initiators of physical violence would be ejected and/or banned. "If any person grabs a girl that roughly, it is considered violence here. Leave."

"I said, this is none of your-"

"Listen, asshat." Leaning over the counter, Natsu hissed, "I don't give a damn how much power you think you have in some fancy business world - your fuckery is not allowed here, and if this is how you treat your daughter, you should be absolutely ashamed of yourself. _Get. Out._"

"Such disgusting disrespect…" the father spat, sweeping up his jacket and standing up. His daughter was released.

"I'm not the one that roughhouses innocent girls. Piss off, and don't feel the need to ever come by again." Natsu gave him a cheery smile. "Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out!"

With a few enraged strides to the door, her father stepped out and slammed the door. Several customers raised their eyebrows towards the aggressive attitude, but soon shrugged it off and continued to eat.

Swallowing, Natsu hesitantly turned towards Lucy. "Hey," he said gently. "I'm sorry about that… you alright?"

Hastily, she nodded up and down, rubbing her likely bruised arm before bring her palms up to wipe her eyes. "S-sorry for bothering you guys with that…"

"Nah, you're fine." Natsu swung his bar towel over his shoulder, leaning towards her. "Hey, how about some of that chicken pasta and blackberry iced tea?"

Blinking a few times with tears still clinging to her eyelashes like shimmering drops of dew, she croaked, "H-how did you know…?"

Natsu could feel his face growing warmer as he scratched the back of his neck. "I… I just see you come here a lot. I just noticed you liked that…"

"Oh," she whispered, twiddling her thumbs and smiling slightly at them. "I'm sorry… I haven't seen you here before."

Natsu shrugged. "I usually just wash dishes - you wouldn't have seen me. And I'm in your psychology class. But they just needed more help tonight. I'll write up your order, okay?"

"Thank you…?"

"Natsu," he said quickly. "Natsu Dragneel."

Another smile twitched on her lips. "Thank you for everything, Natsu."

"Anything for you," he said before he thought about it, but then froze, glancing towards her surprised expression in horror of his stupidly impulsive mouth. "I-I mean… um, like, for you, as in girls that need cheering up. Not y-you specifically… but, like, not in a creepy way. I, like, well, um, like how I'm supposed to serve customers and get them anything and it's not because you're beautiful and cool, because that doesn't matter and I'd serve you even if you weren't… oh shit, um, like but you probably know that, and… ugh," he groaned, and he heard her stifle a laugh, probably at his pinkening cheeks. "Just… forget I said that. Or anything. I'm actually mute. Um. Yeah. So I'll go… get the… yeah. Have a nice night, and um.. yeah, I'm going to my funeral - damn, I mean the barmaid and yeah." And he ran to Mira.

"Mira!" he said in a frantic, quiet tone. "She wants a Cajun chicken pasta and blackberry iced tea and… please hide me - I can't talk to pretty girls, and I screwed up so please, please serve her, and I'll get these guys over here and-"

Mira giggled and shushed him. "Mira, Lisanna, Erza, Juvia, Levy, and I aren't pretty?"

"W-well sure you are, but not like _this!_"

And of course, it was at that moment that his frenemy slid onto a stool. "I think it's about time you grew some balls and talked to a pretty girl without pissing yourself. What's all that bullshit about not being afraid of anything about, eh?" Gray pointed out with a smirk.

"No one _asked _you, freezer burn," Natsu snarled.

"Someone needs to tell ya to suck it up. The usual, Mira, please."

"Sure thing, Gray," Mira promised, before turning to Natsu. "You go put the order in and serve her. Gray is right - suck it up."

"I hate you all," muttered Natsu, stomping off to the kitchen to tell Gajeel what to start cooking up.

Her meal was made up in fifteen minutes, at which point Natsu, grumbling under his breath, took out her plate. She was already sipping her tea, eyes following the lines across the page of her book. "Here ya go," he managed, and Lucy moved her book out of the way to receive the food.

"Thank you," she said.

He murmured a quick, "Enjoy," before scuttling away-

"Hey." Her voice made him stop in his tracks. "Em, when are you on break?"

"Uh," he said, looking to Mira, who was close by with a questioning gaze.

"Now," Mira said forcefully, pushing him by the shoulder. "Your break is now. Go chill and I'll bring you some dinner."

"Th-thanks, Mirajane," Natsu said, messing with his scaly, white scarf.

Lucy cut back in. "Seat here is open." She patted the stool beside her.

Gulping, he nodded, jerkily moving to the spot. "A-alright." The silence was only awkward for a moment before he tried, "So, I couldn't help but hear. Creative writing, huh?"

Her eyes grew instantly brighter, and she was soon explaining her classes while he ate, her dream to be an author, how she was nearly done with her manuscript-

And suddenly, Lucy stopped. "Oh… I'm sorry. I must be terribly boring you."

"No way!" he insisted. It was exciting enough just to see her so animated, but the story sounded interesting as well. Natsu set his face into his hands, resting his elbows on the counter. "Please keep talking."

After blinking a few times, her smile was wider than he'd ever seen before. "Okay. Well, so then the main character travels to this other dimension…"

Natsu didn't realize that over an hour had passed until the the students in the restaurant began filing out into the night, likely heading to the football stadium to watch the game.

"Natsu!" Mira called, and he jolted up from his dreamy state. "You're off."

"Huh?" He frowned. "But I'm off at nine-"

"No, you're off now," Mira told him firmly, putting down the glass she was wiping down. "You're going to go see the game."

"But-" Natsu saw Mira glance towards Lucy meaningfully. "Oh."

Tapping the counter in anxiety, Natsu cleared his throat. "Em… you know, we should… I mean, would you like to… go to the game? With me?"

Wordlessly, she swung her purse up onto her shoulder, drawing out her wallet, but Natsu put his hand on hers. "I've got this."

"What?! No, it's my meal-"

"Please, it's on me. Please?"

Pushing some hair behind her ear, she slowly nodded with another smile. "Okay… but I pay next time."

"N-next time?"

"Yes. Now come on!"

Natsu felt the knowing gazes on his back as Lucy pulled him by the hand to the doors, and only turned back in time to mouth '_thank you'_ at them before he was running off into the promising night.

* * *

**Heya there human!**

**For Nalu Week Day Two - Gratitude **

**I got this as a request from Anonymous on Tumblr and thought it could fit here. Not one of my best, but just some fluff for ya. Hope you enjoyed, and see ya later!**

**Mizpah,**

**~LoneStorm **


	7. Both

There were only a few things in life Lucy needed.

She needed her food, water, shelter, clothing, sleep, laptop - the life basics.

She needed to take the same bus home every day because she had no driver's' license, the city was a bit dangerous to walk alone, and her dad surely wasn't going to remember her enough to take her home.

She needed, lastly, to stop staring at the impossibly attractive boy that sat three seats away.

The boy was there every day, in the same seat. In fact, Lucy and said boy were the only two to even ride the bus every day. She knew his name was Natsu; he was the loud, cheerful boy in her art class and created amazing pieces. Of course, she'd never once spoken to him.

It wasn't that she was shy - oh no! Lucy had been known as one of the most outgoing girls in the school and she knew it. In fact, he was a friend of her friends. No, Natsu was just far too cute for her vocal cords to properly function.

Why she found a simple hoodie, jeans, dark greenish eyes, tan skin, and pink, messy hair attractive, Lucy would never know, but damn could he work it.

It had been like this for the whole school year so far; five months of her walking to her place towards the middle after thanking the grumpy and absent-minded bus driver. Waiting. Glancing up as he stepped through the doors and happily thanked as well, meeting her eyes for only a moment to smile and nod before sitting in the other aisle, three seats away. Looking up and down from her book constantly while he bobbed his head slightly to the music in his earbuds. It was a beautiful sight, and while half of her whispered constantly that she should go strike up a conversation, Lucy hid in her seat, smiling secretively at the view between pages in her book.

Today, an especially cold one where she was bundled up with coat zipped to the point at which the bottom of her face was covered, Lucy was especially invested in her story. The character had finally discovered his friend's hidden identity, and now they were headed to-

"Heya!"

Letting out a strangled gasp, Lucy instantly dropped her book, only to have a bronze-tinted hand swipe down to snatch it before it hit the ground. "Whoops! Careful, there."

Lucy took the book that was handed back to her, blinking up at her visitor with wide eyes. He was grinning toothily down from the seat in front of her, forearms against the top of the backrest lazily.

"Didn't mean to scare ya," he laughed, leaning closer by putting his chin on his hands. He was even hotter at this proximity. "Just thought it was about time one of us said hi."

"H-hi," she managed, gripping her book more tightly to her chest.

"I'm Natsu." He ignored her stuttering, holding out a hand. She took it, feeling the rough strength of it when he gave it a good shake.

"I know," Lucy said, finally managing to push aside her timidness. She offered a smile instead. "You're in my drawing and painting class. I'm-"

"Lucy," he finished. "Whacha reading?"

She explained a little, and then a lot. Soon, they'd been talking for nearly half an hour, to the point where their stop would be coming up any minute. But...just speaking to him was addicting. Easy to do, hard to stop.

His eyes shone down at her, and for the first time since her mother had passed, Lucy felt at home.

In this grungy school bus.

Next to a boy she'd just spoken to once.

"You know," he told her, resting his elbow over the seat and turning towards the grimy window so that he was looking at her from the side. "We ride this bus together every day; maybe we should carpool or make out or something?"

Lucy shrugged, saying, "I dunno if we could find a way to carpool without- wait, what?!"

"Hmm?"

"What did you say?"

"I said exactly what you thought I said."

After a moment of some sort of staring match between them, he slowly started to grin, and she began to laugh. This living in the moment, taking little chances… she liked it. Putting her hands on her cheeks as if it would stop them from steaming, she said through smiles, "Sounds like a good plan."

"Which one?"

"Both. Both sound good."

But she was not expecting him to lean forward with those eager puppy eyes without hesitation, cup her cheek with one hand, and pull her into a simple, happy little kiss over the seat. Lucy only had a sharp intake of breath before her fingers trailed around his neck, mouth moving against his fluidly for nearly a full minute before breaking away to breathe.

And as smiled and he moved back in for another, Lucy figured she'd just found something else to need.

* * *

**Hullo there!**

**Drabble for Nalu Week Day Five - Need. With the prompt: **"**We're literally the only two kids who ride this school bus - maybe we should carpool or make out or something?" AU. ****This was a request drabble from a guest on this site under the alias 'Invisibility', and I thought it was cute! Hope you enjoooyed...**

**Mizpah,**

**~LoneStorm**


	8. Forget Flowers

"No, Natsu, they aren't edible."

Lucy's best friend frowned down at the red rose he was twirling in his fingers. "Then why do people buy them for each other on Valentine's Day?"

Rolling her eyes, Lucy spun around in her office chair and stared dully at the ceiling. "It's a classic symbol of love."

Natsu scoffed. "That's dumb." He imitated a high, British accent, "Oh Juliet, my love for you is like this rose-beautiful, but it's gonna die in a week."

She couldn't help but let out a laugh despite her sour mood; Natsu could always do that to her. "Sounds like half the guys in this stupid high school. So us selling flowers to them is pretty accurate."

"I guess as long as they make the girl happy for a day." He gave a shrug and stretched his tan arms over his head, muscled from his boxing training. Lucy tried to ignore how his _Imagine Dragons_ T-shirt rode up so the world was graced with the rare and treasured view of Dragneel abs. "Don't you want flowers?"

Lucy hesitated. She _did _love flowers, but none of the flowers she'd ever received had been a sincere gift. Just the usual "you're hot, go out with me; I deserve it 'cause I got you flowers on commercial-romance-day" reasoning. Valentine's Day was supposed to be a day of expressing true love for your friends, family, and if you were lucky, a special someone. In past years, her Valentine's Days had been too disappointing to look forward to this one.

Finally, she decided on, "I guess."

His face seemed to brighten considerably, smile highlighted as always with his obnoxiously pink hair. The rest of the rambunctious cafeteria and groups of uncertain teenage boys shuffling closer to the flower booth they were selling from… it all seemed to fade away.

The problem was, sometimes that was also the smile he gave when he was about to do something dumb.

Standing abruptly, Natsu whisked up an entire vase-full and shoved them in her face. "Here! For you!"

"What do you… Natsu, we're supposed to be selling those! Put them back."

He didn't seem to have heard her, and began picking more from another vase.

"No, don't bring me more, you dork!" Lucy exclaimed as he dropped them in her hands. "This is for _charity_, you can't just-"

Natsu only forcefully wrapped her arms around the ridiculously huge bouquet and pushed them all up so that they nearly suffocated her. "Smellll be haaaappy!"

"For charity-"

"For yooooou-"

"Natsu! Put. Them. Back."

Since he made no move to do so, Lucy began sticking them stiffly back into their places. His pout almost made her take it back. "But you said you wanted flowers."

"Well sure, flowers from a nice guy that is sincerely, romantically interested in me-"

"Then take them."

"-and into Shakespeare and reading and not a bunch of sports like most guys-"

"Oh."

"-and knows how to actually be a gentleman and is sensitive and smart-wait, what?"

Natsu's face was the color of his hair. Hurt and disappointment pooled into his dark, green eyes; he'd always been an open book. "Never mind," he muttered gruffly, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning away.

_Then take them._

Lucy stared.

Oh.

_Oh_.

"N-Natsu," she stammered as the bell rang for next period. "I-I didn't mean…"

"Forget it."

He swung up his backpack, not meeting her eyes, and quickly strode off to his class. Lucy stood behind, staring after him in utter shock and self-loathing.

Of course, she'd liked him as more than a friend for a while, but after it seemed he'd never return her feelings, she'd been determined to move on. But now… She'd just ruined her perfect chance.

Worst of all, she'd ruined that bright smile.

* * *

"Levy, I need you to murder me."

They were curled up in Lucy's room (more like the entire third floor of the Heartfilia mansion) after school, celebrating an early "Singles Awareness Day" by eating their own buckets of ice cream and watching every chick flick they could find.

"I'm afraid that wouldn't look good on my college applications, sorry," Levy sighed, closing her mouth around her mint chocolate chip. "What's wrong?"

With a groan, Lucy paused "27 Dresses". "Natsu basically… Told me he liked me."

Levy dropped her box and then scrambled to pick it up before it stained Lucy's futon. "When did this happen?! Lu, I need all the deets."

"W-well… It was when we were selling the flowers! And he started handing me a bunch of them and I told him to put them back. He was all 'But didn't you want flowers?' with that stupidly adorable puppy face and I said yes, but from a… Well, you know the type of guy I used to be into. And… Well, he kinda sorta told me within _that_ conversation and then I didn't hear him at first and went on and kinda described a guy that totally wasn't him and he looked really really hurt and Levy I can't live with myself."

"First of all," Levy said, setting the ice cream aside, "breathe."

Lucy finally breathed in. And out.

"Now," her friend continued, "you call him, apologize for what you said, and tell him the truth of how you feel. And don't say you're over him because you're so totally not."

"I-I can't just-!"

Lucy was saved by the doorbell sounding, and she leapt off the cushion, grateful for the distraction. After excusing herself to her friend, she hurried down the marble steps and slid in her pink, fuzzy socks to the front door.

Upon swinging it open, she was greeted with the blushing face of her best friend.

Unable to help herself, she jumped at him, hugging him around the neck and blabbering out, "I'm so, so sorry about today and I totally wasn't thinking and I was being a total snob-"

"Wh-whoa!" Natsu gasped with a laugh, ruffling her hair. "Calm down, weirdo. I didn't come here for an apology. You're fine-I just… Needed to talk to you. Could I come in for a minute?"

"Of course," Lucy said busily, hoping she wasn't about to cry I'm relief at how his face was no longer haunted by pain. He sauntered in with a gulp and a nod.

When she'd closed the door behind him and turned around, he slowly brought something out from behind his back and held it out to her. He was looking at the ground off to the side with scarlet ears, and in his hands was…

"You said you wanted flowers from a different kind of guy," Natsu told her. "So I got you this instead."

It was a little cactus.

Lucy wasn't able to stop the stream of giggled that peeled out of her at the sight of its awkward, spiked appendages. Its little planting pot was decorated with tiny hearts that matched his hair, and she'd never seen a more beautiful gift in her life.

Plucking it from his hands, she set it aside on a foyer table and pulled Natsu into a short, meaningful kiss that sent her head swirling far away.

"Thank you," she whispered when she backed away, adoringly watching his happily dazed expression. "Did I mention that I'd rather have a cactus from a Natsu than flowers from some other idiot?"

"No, but I got that impression a few seconds ago," Natsu said cheerfully, lacing his hands around her waist.

"Oh, Romeo." She mimicked his deeper voice teasingly. "My love for you is like this cactus; it's super weird and cute looking, and it can hurt like a bitch sometimes, but it will last a lifetime if you take care of it right."

"See?" Natsu told her with that beautifully bright smile back on his face. "Who needs a boyfriend that knows Shakespeare when you can recite it well enough for the both of us?"

* * *

**Happy Valentine's Day!**

**A drabble I wrote up for sebastians-little-demon on tumblr-I was their FT Secret Cupid this year. :) Prompts for inspiration were given by anonymous and bloodychuu on tumblr. A little bitty story hat I hope made you smile. **

**Mizpah,**

**~LoneStorm**


	9. Covalent

"Your pink boy is here, Lu."

Lucy spun around immediately at Mirajane's words, pausing in her tedious cleaning of the liquor shelves to see her white-haired friend grinning mischievously. When she stood on her tiptoes to see over Mira's brother, Elfman, at the bar, sure enough, in walked the love of her life.

Well, not that he knew he was the love of her life, but surely they'd get to that point eventually.

Natsu Dragneel, the most attractive guy in her university's sophomore class and in the universe in general (in her opinion, at least), was wandering towards a small booth close to the counter. Mira said that he was a regular, but tended to come on days that Lucy had off for her book club. Finally… here he was. Adding some nice decoration to her day.

Not, of course, that she loved him for his looks. No, it was ever since that one day together in the Japanese class that they shared.

When she'd seen him around campus before, being loud and obnoxious and messy with his football jock friends, she'd admittedly wrinkled up her nose in disgust and turned away. Though she was friends with some of the football guys, such as Gray Fullbuster, she'd rather pass on the annoying ones.

But then there had been that class two months ago where they'd been paired up to practice Japanese conversation; their teacher obviously was too intent in binge watching a new season of her K-Drama to deal with the class for the day.

While Lucy had thought Natsu was taking the class just to fill some requirement, he'd turned and started speaking in fluent, faultless Japanese, talking happily to her about his cat (did he _mean_ to say it was blue?). She'd responded in turn about her white dog, Plue, and then they'd finally abandoned the Japanese and returned to English.

"You speak Japanese very well," Lucy said with a raised eyebrow.

He'd shrugged. "I'm half Japanese. My mom spoke it at home so I probably coulda tested out of this class, but I wanted to feel good at something."

Lucy had felt a laugh pulled from her, at which he'd flashed a grin.

"So, what's your major?" Natsu had asked, leaning forward. He looked as if he actually… cared.

Somehow, he got her to tell about not only her English major, but her novel, favorite books, even character development strategies…

"Sorry, I'm probably boring the hell out of you," she said eventually, catching herself in the middle of a 'pansing versus plotting' rant.

He had shaken his head quickly. "No! I've never thought about stuff like that. It's cool to know how much more is to it than just pullin' words outta your butt. Keep talking."

After she'd laughed again, she asked him about his.

Natsu's dark eyes had absolutely _glowed_, lighting up with fervor as he began to talk about _chemistry_.

He talked on and on about elements, ions, fire, bonds, atomic structures, fire, nuclear reactions, electronegativity, fire, orbital properties, ozone, fire, fire, _fire_.

She had barely understand a word.

And it was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen.

Natsu was so excited, animated, about something she'd always found deathly boring. Somehow she found herself wanting to sit there and listen to him talk about science until her ears fell off; his passion was contagious. It was as if he could barely sit still when he explained some of it, hands gesturing widely. This football guy was the nerdiest male she'd ever met.

"-and it's so crazy how different a covalent bond is than an ionic, because covalents share instead of take! So, like, the one dude wants the electron, see, but the other can't give it all to him, so they pull back and forth and just end up both using it! Then carbon, man, carbon is just _amazing_, because it has four electrons and so it's a puzzle piece that can fit four electrons around it, like iodine. Because it has seven electrons, four can bond with the carbon to fill octet to make carbon tetraiodide! Tetra because four and stuff, and you were talkin' about Latin roots so there ya go! As if _that_ wasn't awesome enough, think of all the stuff that can _do._ I took this seminar on carbon and got this theory_-_"

Half an ten minutes later, it was back to fire with, "And you can make different color fires because of how different elements can reflect different colors based on their electron shell configuration, so transition metals with d orbitals groups one through nine, ignoring exceptions, of course, can _all_ make fire colors. It would be awesome to make fireworks! All the _colors!_ I especially like potassium chloride, which makes it _purple_ because-"

Then he'd stopped up short when the class was dismissed. He'd frowned, having been thrown from his chemistry zone. "Oh! Class is over." Natsu had looked back at her regretfully, cheeks reddening. "Sorry… I kinda… got carried away."

She'd waved her hands. "No, no it's fine! Great, actually! I'd really like to hear more and-"

"No really, I'm sorry; my friends say I need to chill and shut up about chemistry for once and so I guess it just kinda came out-"

"No!" Lucy had shouted, stopping him up short and making several of her leaving classmates jump. "No one should ever tell you to stop talking about something you're so passionate about. I l-liked seeing how happy it made you. So really… anytime you want to rant about chemistry and fire…" She hoisted her bookbag over her shoulder. "I'm your girl."

He'd blinked those big, dark eyes.

"N-not like that kind of your girl," she'd continued to stammer. "I-I mean, like, um, person, that you talk to when your friends are being assholes about stuff you like and-"

Natsu had laughed, and pulled her into a huge hug. "I get it. Thank you!"

She'd never gotten a hug from a boy before, having gone to all-girls schools, and still found herself hugging him back like it was the most natural thing in the world. He'd smelled intoxicatingly like leather and fresh shampoo and campfire smoke. "Anytime, Natsu."

"I wanna hear more about your book," he'd said in her ear quietly. "It's so cool that you started writing so early. I've never seen someone geek out so much about writing."

She'd smacked the back of his head a bit, but he only laughed and let her go.

"See ya around, Luigi!"

"It's Lucy!" she'd scolded, and then just so happened to see his phone sticking out of his back pocket. Black with three, thick, white stripes. Nothing too weird, but Lucy's nerd side was running strong, which sparked recognition in her mind and she blurted, "Wait… is that a _Death the Kid_ phone case?!"

Natsu had looked up in horror, saved from answering by his friends appearing at the doorway and calling him out. Then he was gone, leaving a smile and taking her heart.

Totally not covalent.

They hadn't gotten to talk in that class since, leaving her to daydream in his general direction and try to start a conversation with him only to get interrupted or flake out. She'd had crushes on guys before, been on a few dates, but never had her heart swelled at the sight of someone's smile, never had she had some unquenchable thirst to know more about him, to hear him happily talk about what he loved for hours on end. Yep, Lucy was pretty sure she wanted to marry that boy, and pretty sure he was an absolute anime nerd. Which would ensure his perfection.

And here he was, walking into the restaurant at which she worked with another girl.

When Lucy saw the brunette sit across from him, swinging her hips a little too much and pushing her hair around constantly, she let out a sigh, putting down her rag and slouching against the back counter. "Of course he has a girlfriend; he's amazing. I'm so _stupid_."

Mira frowned in concern, rubbing her friend's back. "I haven't seen her with him before, and he's never talked to me about her. I'm sure it's just one date-you can still win that boy's heart no problem!"

Lucy peeked over again; the girl was snapchatting someone, leaving Natsu to stare dully out the rain-streaked window. Annoyance tugged at her chest. Anyone that was lucky enough to reserve some time with Natsu should be listening to him cutely go on about science, not spend ten minutes trying to find the filter that best shows off her cleavage.

Straightening up, Lucy grabbed her notebook from her pocket. "Mira?" Lucy said, suddenly being filled with a satisfying confidence. "Would you let me take that table?"

Mira hopped in excitement. "Oh you know it. Go get 'im!"

Nodding quickly, Lucy strode out from behind the bar and made her way to the table. Her intention was not to steal him away; only cheer him up a bit. That crestfallen pout was unacceptable when she knew such an adorable smile was possible. She wondered if his friends had set him up with the girl.

When Lucy walked closer, it did seem as if he were trying to start a conversation. "So, em, Clara, what's your major?"

The girl shrugged. "Business."

Natsu seemed to be trying hard to look interested. "Oh, that's cool! So, um, why did you want to do that?"

"My parents said I could get the most jobs with it, and there's nothing else I really want to do. I mean, not a single one of my friends knows what she wants to do. Who does?"

Natsu frowned. "Huh. Oh. Well I know one girl that wants to be an English teacher. She's writing a book, too! It was really cool; a fantasy kinda thing and she knew she wanted to be an author for a long time, so I'm sure plenty of people know what they want."

Though she was only just behind the table now, Lucy stopped. Her face and heart felt warm; he'd definitely just been talking about her.

But Clara laughed. "Who has time to write books at the college scene?"

"She does."

"Sure. So what major are you telling your parents you're doing while you're at parties?"

Natsu looked uncomfortable. "Well I'm planning on a chemistry major…"

The girl winced. "Ew. Science."

At this point, Lucy had enough. She marched up and plastered on a smile. "Hey there, guys. Can I get you anything to drink?"

Natsu looked up at her, and finally smiled. "Lucy! Hi!"

_He remembers my name!_ "Hey, Natsu," Lucy greeted, pushing some hair behind her ear.

Clara didn't look at her, and instead at her phone. "I'll get some iced tea."

Lucy swallowed a smirk. She'd been reading up more on chemistry just to understand him better, and this was the perfect moment to use it. "Would you like that with or without sucrose?"

Natsu let out a snort of laughter, and the girl only squinted up at Lucy. "Huh?"

"Or maybe I could sprinkle some francium in there for you? It has quite an explosive taste."

Clara only made a distasteful face. "Sure. Whatever."

At this, Natsu let out another burst of laughter, and Clara began to look confused.

Lucy looked away from the girl and to Natsu. "And you, sir?"

"I'll just go with some hydrogen dioxide, thanks," Natsu said with a grin.

"Sure thing," Lucy told him. "Any appetizers I could start you with? We have chips and guacamole."

Natsu leaned forward. "How many moles in the guacamole?"

"Avacadro's number, of course," she answered smoothly.

"Well, I can't pass that up," laughed Natsu. "Chemistry puns, eh? I'm in my element."

Clara wasn't paying attention to his dorky amazingness, so Lucy jerked her head in the girl's direction. "I would tell her a chemistry joke, but I'm afraid I wouldn't get a reaction."

"All the good ones argon," he agreed, nerdy eyes alight. "I guess we'll have to zinc of a new one."

"Okay, can you two seriously stop?" Clara finally groaned. "I just want _food_."

"Well, fluorine, uranium, carbon, potassium you too," Lucy muttered, and that's when Natsu lost it, bursting into a fit of giggles.

"That's it!" Clara said, standing up in her seat. "What kind of waitress are you?"

Lucy kept a perfectly calm expression. "Well, I wouldn't know that, but I'm sure I'd be one hell of a butler."  
Natsu dropped his face into his hands, shoulders shaking with laughs. With a smirk, Lucy leaned forward and straightened the salt and pepper on their table. "Sorry. It was just so unsymmetrical." And when she returned to her position, she whispered to Natsu, who'd again dissolved into a laughing mess, "I knew you were a little anime shit."

His grin lit up the world. "You got me."

With that, Clara began to shove her phone back into her purse. "Okay, I am never taking a suggestion to go out with a guy from Gray again. For the record, I wanted _Gray_, but he decided to date his stalker creep-"

At this, Lucy dropped her easy smile. "Excuse you? His girlfriend is not a stalker creep. She is my _friend_; anyone that talks about Juvia like that is not welcome here. I'd tell you to get the hell out, but luckily for us, you're already leaving!"

With a disgusted huff, the girl marched away.

The silence after that between that was rather awkward.

"Em," Lucy said hesitantly. "I really am sorry for scaring your date away-"

He snorted, leaning back. "Don't be. She was annoying. And I don't anyone that talks about Gray's cool girlfriend like that or talks to you like that within five feet of me. Besides," Natsu said, looking scandalized, "she didn't even get any of the chemistry jokes!"

"Yeah," Lucy agreed, then looked at him more seriously. "Natsu… you could do so much better."

Rubbing the back of his neck with flushed cheeks, he answered, "W-well thanks… there is this girl I like, but Gray said she was way out of my league 'cause I'm a closet nerd. Usually I wouldn't care what he says, but it's kinda important to me so…"

"Out of your league?" Lucy echoed, aghast. This boy was wonderful; if anything, he was out of everyone else's league. "I can't believe he'd say that! What an ass." Though it made pain shoot through her chest at the thought of him liking someone else, Lucy told him, "Natsu, if the girl doesn't have feelings for you too because of your nerdiness, then she's not worth your time."

"But she… she just is."

"Then stop listening to Gray and tell her how you feel!" Knowing Mira wouldn't mind, Lucy slid in across from him and set her elbows on the tabletop. "I can't imagine her saying no to one date."

His dark eyes traced her face, and she could almost feel the burn of his gaze across her cheekbones, her nose to her mouth and jaw and then back to meet hers. "Okay," he said. Natsu swallowed, and looked her in the eyes. "Will you, then?"

Lucy frowned. "Will I what?"

Giving a sigh, he dropped his forehead into his hand. "Let me put this into more understandable words." Natsu put his hands down flat on the table and leaned forward. "Are you a carbon sample? Because I want to date you."

Lucy stared, and then burst out laughing.

He immediately flinched back. "O-oh. Okay. Um, sorry. I just thought-"

"No, no!" she stopped him quickly, trying to erase her smile. "No, I'd love to go out with you. That was just… the lamest pickup line ever and definitely the best way anyone has ever asked me out."

Slowly, he began to smile, that perfect, adorable, nerdy smile. "Oh, good. Because according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, you are supposed to share your hotness with me."

"That was _worse!_" Lucy choked through her hysteria. "Ah, doesn't matter… I really like you. A lot. And I think we should nerd together."

"I think that's a fantastic idea."

"So when I get off work," Lucy suggested lightly, shooting a small grin as she stood, surprised that her knees didn't give out at his smile, "maybe you can talk nerdy about chemistry to me while we walk home and then order some pizza to maul while we watch Soul Eater?"

Natsu gaped. "I think I'm in love."

Somehow melting from the inside out, Lucy managed to say, "Forget hydrogen; you're my number one element."

"...That was awful."

"You loved it."

"Yes. Yes I did."

* * *

**Heya dorks,**

**This was going to be a lame restaurant AU, and somehow turned into a lame chemistry pun restaurant AU… well anyway, it's just a tiny drabble and I don't have enough description, but I wanna get back to writing other stuff and had to get this out of my head.**

**Don't you think it's just the cutest when people are excited about something? I can't stand chemistry (Except I did write all of his rants off the top of my head, so I'm rather proud of myself) but if someone was passionate about it, I'd love to listen. I've got friends in robotics or sound nerds and I have no idea what they're saying, but I keep asking them because they look so happy and it's ADORABLE. So never put someone down for talking about something they love, even if you think it's silly or boring.**

**Mizpah,**

**~LoneStorm**


	10. I Know

"I told you it would be way better than the couch!" Levy said proudly, propping herself up by her elbows on her cat pillow pet.

Gajeel rolled his eyes, but gave a grudging smile as he settled on his stomach into his own couch cushion on the floor. Their pillow fort was, as she said, much better than the couch, heavy blanket held up by several chairs and haphazard ottomans. Their little hideout was littered with a nest of more blankets and pillows, providing a perfect place to lounge and eat popcorn while their Star Wars marathon ran.

The two friends had been planning on meeting their friends in the park, but the heavy rain had interrupted. So Gajeel found himself laying beside Levy in their magnificent pillow fort in front of the TV, watching the introduction of the first… fourth? Ah, the introduction for A New Hope roll, Levy, as always, reading all of it out loud.

It had become a tradition with them, marathoning and making snarky commentary throughout entire movie series'. Gajeel would never admit how much he adored when Levy would interject with random comments almost every minute about the making of this scene in the movie, random facts about the series universe, tiny parts of the movie that he'd have never noticed, and the small stories behind them. He'd lay his head down on his arms with his face turned towards her, often forgetting the movie entirely while she spoke. Pantherlily, Gajeel's cat, always filled the space between them, and sometimes, Gajeel wished he wouldn't.

This was the third time marathoning Star Wars, so they both recited several lines of The Empire Strikes back, until they finally made it to Gavel's favorite part.

"I am your father," Levy quoted in the deepest tone her little voice could manage.

"No, that's not true," Gajeel said, contorting his face into a fake look of horror. "That's impossible!"

"Search your feelings! You know it to be true!" Levy responded, holding out an arm towards the screen.

"Nooooooooooooo!" cried Gajeel, rolling onto his back. "Nooo-"

And as always, that was the part where they both burst out laughing.

"His face!" Levy choked, small body shaking with laughter. "His _FACE!"_

"Never gets old," Gajeel sighed, turning back to lay on his stomach and dropping his head into his arms.

He peeked over his curtain of long, black hair to see her still giggling, hands on her reddened cheeks as she settled back into her previous position. Her blue curls trailed down her shoulders, splayed out on the pillow. She'd put on fleece, Millennium Falcon pajamas, and her red glasses were perched on her nose.

The words seemed to just fall out of him. No, maybe they burst out like a burning rocket that had been held to Earth. They just came easily, under the blanket of a pillow fort with his voice hoarse from laughter: "I love you."

Her warm, brown eyes met his, round and blinking in astonishment. Gajeel felt himself curling up, terrified by what he'd just done. He'd sworn not to tell her! She was never supposed to find out, to save their friendship, which was the best thing he ever had in his miserable life. But now, his stupid mouth had to run away with him, and she was looking at him only in shock.

Gajeel closed his eyes, waiting for it all to end and for awkwardness to take over. For the movie nights and pillow forts and falling asleep and waking up to have her be the first thing he saw… all of it to end.

But that's when she smiled, took his hand, and said, "I know."

* * *

**This is what tomfoolery happens when you silly turds try to give me the smutty prompt.**

**Anonymous request on Tumblr for #2, any ship, for "The way you said "I love you"" prompt list: **_**With a hoarse voice, under the blankets**_

**Just a tiny Gajevy fluff for you-I'm actually doing a pretty big project all in one go, right now. I'm writing an Inuyasha (Inukag) fanfiction. It'll be my only contribution to that fandom. It started out as a oneshot, but now I'm just gonna write all of it and make it into a short (maybe three to five chapter) multichap. I just joined the fandom and I'm slightly (EXTREMELY) obsessed-I'm excited! Stay tuned!**

**Mizpah,**

**~LoneStorm**


	11. Bagel Battles

When the bell on the door jangled more violently than the average customer, Natsu felt a grin of satisfaction widening on his face. It was only 10:15 am on the second day of the new development, and as predicted, Lucy Heartfilia was ready for a throwdown.

He tried to stay completely nonchalant as she stormed up to the counter in all her aproned, ponytailed, fiery-eyed glory, where she slammed his shiny (now super crinkled and stained with coffee) new pamphlet. The bold words "BAGELS AND SANDWICHES NOW BEING SOLD AT MAGNOLIA COFFEEHOUSE" emblazoned the front of the page.

"Bagels," she said heatedly. "You're selling bagels."

Giving her his best, innocent, blinky doe eyes he could manage, Natsu gave a smile and a, "That's right, ma'am. Congratulations on your literacy!"

Her big, brown eyes narrowed, and he felt them burn into him almost more than the finger she jabbed into his chest. "Don't you get sassy with me, Dragneel. Your title is a coffeehouse! Not someplace where they sell food!"

"Well, there's this interesting thing about living in the good ol' US of A, miss," he said, putting his palms by the register and leaning towards her. "I can make my business whatever I want it to be. With our additions in the back, we finally have enough room for a kitchen. I do think people will like having something to eat with their coffee, don't you? Kind of makes more sense."

She leaned over the counter as well, freckle spotted nose wrinkling up in frustration. Some golden blonde hair had fallen loose from her ponytail and now framed her face beneath her visor. It almost made him angry that someone could look so gorgeous in a coffee shop uniform, like she wasn't even trying.

"And what… what do you think is going to happen to the rest of the coffee places in town?" she demanded, sounding slightly desperate. Natsu glanced to his left, where customers were in line and eyeing the exchange in either annoyance, fear, or amusement. As much as he adored his and Lucy's verbally violent exchanges, he'd have to cut this short if he didn't want pissed visitors.

"Well, I guess the other coffee shops, such as your lovely Fairy Tail Cafe, will just have to accept the reality of a competitive market economy," Natsu told her tilting his head to the side in the way he knew would madden her.

"It was competitive enough before you started selling food, with your place right across the street from mine!"

"Mine was here first!"

"Well mine has a better atmosphere!"

"Good thing people care more about taste than appearance!"

"What exactly are you implying about my coffee?" Lucy asked in a dangerously low voice.

"I'm implying," he said, mimicking her tone as he held her gaze only inches away, so that he could register the honey scent from her smooth skin, "that your stuff tastes like instant coffee."

It was a lie, of course. He'd paid his little cousin, Wendy, to bring him back a taste of the competition before her school day a few times before… as in every morning. Lucy's spicy mochas were like crack.

Her fists clenched. "You take that back!"

"Then stop throwing a fit about me selling what I want to!" He threw up his hands in exasperation. "How about you focus on how to make your own shop better instead of bringing down mine? I mean, it's not like I'm your only competitor! There's Mira's place over on fifth street! Have you even tried her stuff yet? You could gain insight from your enemies, you know!"

Her answer was a growl. "No, I haven't gotten to Mira's, because I've been trying to keep my shop alive with a grand total of three part time employees!"

"Then why don't you just take a break for a day and come check it out with me, because she's got new lattes that I need to try and see if I can beat!" Natsu shot back.

"Fine! I'll meet you tomorrow morning at nine and you'd better not be late!" she told him, leaning back striding towards the glass door. "Oh, and by the way," she called to him over her shoulder. Her smile was sly, holding a gleam that made Natsu's breath catch. "My shop is opening a little bookstore and adding smoothies to the menu. Hope you can drop by and see it!"

"What?! Heartfilia, you little-!"

And she was gone.

It took Natsu a half minute of gaping in a mix of frustration, disbelief, and complete, overwhelming attraction before his face morphed into a frown. "Wait, did I just ask her out?"


End file.
